ELIJAH

“Then the woman said to Elijah, ‘Now I know that you are a man of God and that the Word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.”

1 Kings 17:24

Spurgeon called him, “The Iron Prophet!” Ahab, the king of Israel, called him, “The troubler of Israel” (1 Kings 18:17). His contemporaries call him things even a great deal less complimentary. His name, Elijah, meant, “Yahweh is God,” or “Jehovah is God,” and certainly his life demonstrated that he believed that with no wavering.

Henry Halley in Bible Handbook, offers this tribute to the man saying, “Elijah’s rare, sudden, and brief appearances, his undaunted courage and fiery zeal, the brilliance of his triumphs, the pathos of his despondency, the glory of his departure, and the calm beauty of his re-appearance on the Mount of Transfiguration, make him one of the grandest and most romantic characters Israel ever produced.

From these grand words we might assume that Elijah was no less than the iron man which Spurgeon alluded to, yet the fact is what made this man so great is that he was human as we are, filled with the same emotions yet had a heart for God which separated him, not only from his contemporaries but from the generations of history as well.

Read the story of his life in 1 Kings 17 through 2 Kings 2, and see the highs and lows of a man who experienced the gamut of human emotions.

Elijah is the champion of the common man. He tells you that God will hear your heart cry and will honor the desire of your heart to seek and to serve the Heavenly Father with all of your faults and failures. Thank God for Elijah and take heart. The God of Elijah is not dead nor does He sleep. The God of Elijah is the Everlasting Father who will meet you today.

God Bless YOU..

cabreraflorina.blogspot.com

ios.florinac@gmail.com

DO YOU LOVE ME

For this God is our God for ever and ever

Psalm 48:14

One of the ways we are made in God’s image is in our ability to communicate and to express the feelings of our heart as thoughts. That ability to communicate is further complicated by the nuances of meaning which different words have. For example, the word LOVE.

After His resurrection Jesus said to Peter, “Do you truly love me more than these (meaning the rest of disciples)? (John 21:15). Jesus used a word that conveyed the idea of love as being a deep commitment. Peter answered, “I love you” but he used different word; he was saying “I love you” but more as a brother, not such a deep commitment as the first word.

Again, Jesus asked the question receiving same answer, and the third time; but this time he used the same word as Peter used asking, “Do you really even care about me as you have indicated?”

“How much do you really love me?” frankly, I see but three responses to that question. One is rejection – “I don’t really love you!” which would be a frank but honest response. Another is the response of indifference – “Lord, I suppose that I could say I love you, but only as long as it doesn’t interfere too much with my lifestyle.”

The third possibility is the response of commitment where by you declare, “I do love you with a commitment to care, to stand by your side, and to be counted when the going gets tough!” that is the only response that counts.

To be in His presence is to know Him, and to know Him is to love Him. You can’t have one without the other. How would you answer that question, “Do you really love me?”

God Bless YOU..

cabreraflorina.blogspot.com

ios.florinac@gmail.com

BITTERNESS

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger. Be kind and compassionate just as in Christ God forgave you.”

Ephesians 4:31,32

Bitterness, says medical doctor S.I. McMillan, is a killer. It is not the object of the emotion that gets the brunt of the damage rather it is the person whose heart is bitter.

Revenge does not eliminate the hurt, but forgiveness does. Yet, forgiveness never comes easy. Take for instance, the friend who wrote, “You said that forgiveness is treating the person as if something had not happened. How about this? My son was brutally killed in a dorm. I easily forgave the boy who did it – he was not responsible, but the officials who were supervising the home were negligent. I can’t drop it as though it had not happened.”

Here was a situation where those who were responsible allowed alcohol to be consumed in a home for troubled young men – the resulting alteraction cost the life of a resident.

How do we learn forgiveness? Jesus gave us a model when He prayed for His executioners on the Cross, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

Here are guidelines which will help eliminate bitterness and help you learn to forgive.

1.To forgive is to follow the example of our Lord, who forgave even His executioners.

2.Forgiveness is a necessity in the light of God’s forgiveness.

3.Forgiveness is a matter of the will first, then the emotions.

4.God helps you learn to forgive if you seek His help.

The two most difficult words to utter in any language are the humble words, “Forgive me, I am sorry.” Forgiveness is an alternative to the devastation of bitterness. It is the only real solution.”

God Bless YOU..

cabreraflorina.blogspot.com

ios.florinac@gmail.com

WOMEN I LOVE AND ADMIRE

The women whom I love and admire for their strength and grace, did not get that way because shit worked out. They got that way, because shit went wrong, and they handled it. They handled it in a thousand different ways, on a thousand different days, but they handled it, those women are my superheroes..

-elizabeth gilbert

God Bless YOU..

cabreraflorina.blogspot.com

ios.florinac@gmail.com

WHEN YOU HAVE A STRONG MOTHER

..you are smart enough to see that crying doesn’t equate to weakness. You understand that even the bravest people break down sometimes. That even the toughest girls can feel like their world is falling to pieces in front of them.

When you have a strong mother, you never feel alone. No matter what, you have someone who will pick you off the floor when you struggle to stand. Someone who will remind you that you are badass enough to get through your darkest days. Someone who will push you to follow your dreams because you are smart enough to reach success.

When you have a strong mother, you never give up on yourself. You get off your ass after you fall and try again. You tell yourself that you can do this, that you are good enough. You never accept failure as an option. You keep trying until you get what you want.

When you have a strong mother, you have a best friend for life. You have someone who you can talk about whatever has been bothering you. You have someone who will help you fix anything that you find broken. You have someone who will be there for you whenever you need her, because she is only a phone call away.

When you have a strong mother, she is your inspiration. She is your role model. When you have a strong mother, you grow into a strong woman yourself.

God Bless YOU..

cabreraflorina.blogspot.com

ios.florinac@gmail.com

MOTHER

You are my my voice of reason

Story teller

Advice giver

Hand holder

Partner in crime

Shoulder

Shopping buddy

Supporter

Broken heart healer

Teacher

Chef

Right hand

Psychologist

Nerve calmer

Angel

Sunshine

Heart and soul

Problem solver

Comedian

Doctor

Peace keeper

Cheerleader

Twin

Confidant

And my BESTFRIEND..

God Bless YOU..

cabreraflorina.blogspot.com

ios.florinac@gmail.com

MOM

For all the times that I forgot to “thank you,”

For all the special, little things you do,

For all the words that sometimes go unspoken,

I need to say, “I love you, Mom, and I do..”

I love you for the way you stop and listen,

And for your kind support throughout the years,

For teaching me the meaning of compassion,

And sharing in my triumphs and my tears..

And, if at times, I may have seemed ungrateful,

I want to say, “I truly hope you see,

That nothing you have done has been forgotten,

And day by day you just mean more to me..”

God Bless YOU..

cabreraflorina.blogspot.com

ios.florinac@gmail.com